Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Prep School Football Programs

Conor's father, Pittsburgh attorney Craig Lee, was disappointed with the prep school experience, starting with the broken promise his son would be the only kicker on the roster.

"My whole intent to send Conor to prep school was not for grades, not to improve his character, but to market him and make an investment in his future," Craig Lee said.

Did it pay off?

"Absolutely not," he said. "He didn't get a scholarship out of it, and I don't feel he was marketed as well as they said he would be. I personally feel that if you're going to a prep school to obtain a (college football) scholarship, it's an uphill battle.

"These military prep schools are more of a warehouse for kids who already committed to a scholarship, but are academically ineligible," Craig Lee said. "From what I understand, all they do is sit in a room all day and prep for the SATs. You're not really learning math, you're learning how to get a better SAT score. Is it a diploma mill? I think it might be."

He's turned out 77 Division I-A recruits in the past seven years, including 16 from last season's roster.

"I get to pick my team every year," Chaplick said. "I don't have to go on the road to recruit.

"We don't take any kid that doesn't project as a I-A. That's what our program is about. If they're not I-A, or I-AA, they don't come here."

Dave Wannstedt has recruited a few prep school players but doesn't feel especially good about it:

Wannstedt admits he's not a big fan of recruiting prep school players. The process starts with finding out why they're at prep school in the first place.

"I'm not saying this in a negative sense, but kids are there for a reason," he said. "It's up to you to find out. The majority of times it's academics, but sometimes, it's an injury or for personal reasons.

"It's a great opportunity for them to get their grades squared away, and a chance to mature away from home. But you have to really know these kids and what type of character they have. How hungry are they?"